Not So Fast by Karen Booth

Hey everyone, and welcome back to the paddock blog! We're so glad you're here for the second-ever installment of the PGP Book Club, and trust us, this one’s a scorcher.

This bookclub episode, we’re diving into Not So Fast by Karen Booth, a steamy, fast-paced romance set in the exhilarating world of Formula 1. The book has everything you'd want in a sports romance: speed, spice, and so much sass. A huge thank you to Karen Booth and Afterglow Publishing for giving us an early copy to devour (and believe us, we did!)! I think one of us read this in like 2 days.

This review, however, is brought to you by Chelsea, from our episode with Amy, Mel, and Rachel, where we aimed to unpack the chaos, chemistry, and characters that made Not So Fast a wild ride from the very first chapter. Now let’s get into it!

What’s Not So Fast by Karen Booth about?

Let’s kick things off with the setup, and I’ll try to be spoiler-free here. Our main character, Mia Neal, is an overthinking, relatable podcaster, just like us, and she’s obsessed with Formula 1. After dragging British driver Xander Bishop on her podcast (who among us hasn’t said something spicy on mic?), her show's popularity skyrockets. I need you all to read this book just for this storyline because I was cackling. Xander’s teammate takes notice and invites Mia to the Miami Grand Prix, not exactly for good reasons. Cue the meet-chaos, not meet-cute.

Their first interaction? Not smooth. But instead of the enemies-to-enemies interaction we expected, what unfolded was a steamy, spicy connection that throws them both off balance, and had us blushing and kicking our feet!! This is not a slow burn. It’s all gas, no brakes, and the spice level is definitely dialed up.

At its core, we get a story about friends-to-lovers, where Xander and Mia’s relationship unfolds at a rapid pace. We get to read about both their careers throughout the story. Mia, with her podcast finally rising in popularity and feeling like she’s found her calling, and Xander getting comfortable in his car to try and win races against his more experienced teammate, someone he once looked up to. We also have a two-family story happening, with Mia’s mom and aunt’s conflict, and Xander’s family medical situation and sibling relationships.

A quick PSA: if you’re picking this up after listening to our last book review, prepare yourself, this one is a level (or two) spicier. Think of it as turning the dial from flirtatious banter to full-on "is this allowed in public?" and yes, most of us were reading this in public.

First Impressions & Themes That Hit

Genre: Sports Romance / Contemporary

Tone: Witty and Emotionally Grounded

Content Warnings: Spicy scenes

We all had a lot of thoughts while reading, and some pretty big questions. Like, how was Mia podcasting from inside the paddock? Soundproof hotel room? Driver lounge? A really great mic that we need to buy? With all that background noise, it felt… almost impossible. Still, we love how passionate she is about her show. As fellow podcasters, that hit home!

One thing we really appreciated: Mia isn’t your typical romance FMC. She’s not described as the classic “perfect” girl. She’s confident, passionate, and refreshingly real. We really liked getting to meet her character.

The story digs into themes of identity as Mia finds her place in a career as a podcaster, ambition from Xander in his racing, and, of course, love all through a lens that any F1 fan will find fun! But we also couldn’t help but notice the whirlwind pacing.

Mia and Xander fall fast, like, page 33, and she‘s already blushing fast. And while that’s on-brand for the title (Not So Fast — or maybe ironically… So Very Fast?), some of us were wishing for a bit more buildup before things got steamy. We also noted that the point of view could be tricky here and there. We would’ve loved a name at the beginning of each chapter or an icon like a Mic and Racecar to know whose thoughts we were reading.

Characters We Loved (& the Ones Who Drove Us Up the Wall)

Let’s talk characters, because wow, there are a lot of big personalities in this book.

The president of Mia’s fan club? A menace. Total clout-chaser energy. Every time she popped up, we collectively sighed. And there was also the media girl, not exactly annoying, but it would’ve made more sense if she were Xander’s assistant. I feel like these were good characters for the storyline, but they succeeded at not being our favs haha. We imagine Mia with a following of something like 200,000 for some reason, hence the fan club.

We had very mixed feelings about Heather (direct quote from Amy’s notes: “IDK if I love or hate Heather”), but we were united in our love for Freya, Xander’s adorable, fan-girl sister. She was a bright spot of wholesomeness in a book full of fast cars and faster feelings. We just really enjoyed watching Xander’s interactions with his siblings, and we think readers would also enjoy their pop-ups in the story.

Also, Mia’s mom and aunt? Absolute chaos. Family drama in this book hits differently, and her aunt? She might need her own novella. It was definitely something we think siblings, especially sisters, could relate to.

We also really enjoyed how Booth wrapped up every storyline throughout her book, and seeing the characters all receive a proper ending was perfect since we know some books can get carried away and leave loose ends.

The Lines That Made Us Wheeze

We have to talk about the standout moments, because this book had us laughing out loud more than once. Top of the list?

“He drives like he’s got his D*** in his hand.”

We DIED. cackling kind of died. That line alone earned this book a spot on our summer reading list. Also, shout-out to the PowerPoint driver rankings, it felt like a callout to our own group chats. And the bingo card reference? Iconic.

Karen Booth absolutely delivered with her “F1-but-make-it-rom-com” writing style. From “cloud sports” (LOL) to “cuckoo banana pants,” we were both confused and charmed, which honestly sums up a lot of the F1 world, too.

Let’s Talk F1 Parallels

Now let’s get into the real F1 comparisons. Look, we tried to pretend it wasn’t about him. But if you’ve spent any time watching F1, you’ll immediately recognize that Xander Bishop gives George Russell vibes. British? Check. Polished? Check. Slightly awkward but charming? Big check.

And there was the use of “blimey” and “crikey.” Direct from Amy’s notes app: “Why did that crikey from Xander give me George energy?” If you like George, you’ll probably love this book. If not… you may find yourself mentally editing as you read. Which is okay too, because honestly once you look beyond George it’s a fun read!

As for accuracy? There were a few hmmm moments. There’s the F1 calendar timeline that was off. Texas in July? Can’t happen. That’s 110°F heatstroke territory. We would know since October alone had 2 of our girls pass out at COTA (my bad). And sadly, the Monaco watch party at 8 am? Breweries in Texas can’t legally serve alcohol that early on a Sunday without food, and even then, it’s just beer and wine, which technically could work, but this was us being picky since we had a few Texas residents on the pod. But hey, if you’re reading for vibes and not realism, it works perfectly fine.

Final Thoughts & Ratings

So… would we recommend it?

Absolutely, but with caveats. If you’re a hardcore F1 fan, you might get stuck on the timeline issues or the Monaco overtaking. But if you’re in the market for a spicy, fast-paced, summer romance with an F1 twist? This book delivers.

PGP Rating: 4 out of 5 helmets 🏁 

Once we stopped imagining George (sorry George), we had a lot of fun with it! The banter was sharp, the chemistry was undeniable, and Mia’s podcasting passion felt like a little love letter to all of us creating F1 content from our laptops, bedrooms, and closets.

It’s a great pick for a vacation read, a beach weekend, or your next book club hang. Just don’t say we didn’t warn you about the spice ~

Let us know if you picked up Not So Fast, we’d love to hear your thoughts! And stay tuned for our next Book Club pick, coming soon.

You can follow Karen Booth for updates and more here!

By: Chelsea Fernandez